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Bank of America vs Honda: Founders, CEOs and History

Bank of America was founded in 1904 by Amadeo Peter Giannini and is led by Brian Moynihan. Honda was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda, Takeo Fujisawa and is led by Toshihiro Mibe.

Company facts

Bank of America

Founded
1904
Headquarters
Charlotte, North Carolina
Current CEO
Brian Moynihan
Employees
213,000

Honda

Founded
1948
Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Current CEO
Toshihiro Mibe
Employees
195,109

Founders

Bank of America

  • Amadeo Peter Giannini

    Bank of America was founded by A. P. Giannini, the San Jose-born son of Italian immigrants. In 1904 he opened the Bank of Italy in a converted saloon in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. His aim was unusual for the time: to lend to working people.

Bank of America founders in full

Honda

  • Soichiro Honda

    Soichiro Honda founded the company in 1946. Originally a mechanic who manufactured piston rings for Toyota, he realized that post-war Japan desperately needed cheap, reliable transportation.

  • Takeo Fujisawa

    Takeo Fujisawa co-founded Honda in 1949, serving as the absolute perfect business counterpart to Soichiro Honda's engineering obsession.

Honda founders in full

CEOs and their tenures

Bank of America

  1. Amadeo Peter Giannini1904–1945

    Founder and Chairman

    Giannini was born in San Jose, California, in 1870 to Italian immigrant parents and sold fruit and vegetables from a horse-drawn wagon before opening the Bank of Italy in San Francisco at the age of 34.

    Source
  2. Hugh L. McColl Jr.1998–2001

    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

    McColl joined the company in 1959 as a management trainee and built NationsBank through interstate acquisitions before its 1998 combination with San Francisco based BankAmerica, which took the Bank of America name and created the first coast-to-coast U.S.

    Source
  3. Ken Lewis2001–2009

    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

    Lewis joined the company in 1969 as a credit analyst, ran corporate strategy from 1999, and became chairman and chief executive officer on April 25, 2001 when Hugh McColl retired.

    Source
  4. Brian Moynihan2010–present

    Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

    Moynihan became chief executive officer on January 1, 2010, after running the general counsel, consumer banking and wealth management units, and he also chairs the board.

    Source
Bank of America CEO history in full

Honda

  1. Takanobu Ito2009–2015

    President and CEO

    He introduced a plan to reorganise Honda global operations and handed the presidency to Takahiro Hachigo in 2015.

    Source
  2. Takahiro Hachigo2015–2021

    Former President and CEO

    Hachigo trimmed excess capacity and refocused Honda on hybrids, motorcycles and its core models, which improved profitability before the EV investment cycle began.

    Source
  3. Toshihiro Mibe2021–present

    Director, President and Representative Executive Officer (CEO)

    Mibe's tenure has been defined by the push into electrification and its costly reset. The EV charges produced Honda's first annual loss since listing, but the shift toward hybrids and motorcycles was followed by a record first-quarter profit in FY2027.

    Source
Honda CEO history in full

Timeline: Bank of America and Honda side by side

  1. 1904Bank of America

    Bank of Italy Founded

    A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco to expand access to banking for immigrants, wage earners, and small merchants.

  2. 1906Bank of America

    San Francisco Earthquake Response

    After the 1906 earthquake, Giannini resumed lending while much of San Francisco's banking system was disrupted. The response turned emergency access to credit into lasting customer trust and became a defining story in the bank's retail identity.

  3. 1930Bank of America

    Bank of Italy Renamed Bank of America

    The Bank of Italy changed its name to Bank of America on November 1, 1930. The rebrand reflected a wider consumer and business ambition beyond the original immigrant-community label.

  4. 1948Honda

    Honda Motor Founded

    Soichiro Honda establishes Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in Japan.

  5. 1958Bank of America

    BankAmericard Introduced

    Bank of America introduced BankAmericard in 1958, a revolving-credit card that later became part of the Visa system. The product tied the bank to modern consumer credit, merchant acceptance, and payment-network economics.

  6. 1959Honda

    American Honda Opens

    Honda enters the US market, initially building awareness through motorcycles.

  7. 1963Honda

    Honda Enters Automobiles

    Honda expands from motorcycles and engines into automobile production.

  8. 1972Honda

    Civic Launch

    The Civic becomes a defining global nameplate for Honda's fuel-efficient automobile strategy.

  9. 1986Honda

    Acquired Montesa

    Honda Motor Co. acquired Montesa. Honda took control of the Spanish motorcycle maker Montesa, creating Montesa Honda to build trial and off-road motorcycles in Europe.

  10. 1986Honda

    Acura Brand Launched

    Honda launched the Acura luxury brand in the United States in 1986.

  11. 1998Bank of America

    NationsBank and BankAmerica Merge

    The 1998 merger of Charlotte-based NationsBank and San Francisco's BankAmerica created the first coast-to-coast U.S. bank under the Bank of America name. It also shifted the modern company's headquarters center to Charlotte.

  12. 2000Honda

    ASIMO Unveiled

    Honda unveiled the ASIMO humanoid robot in 2000.

  13. 2006Bank of America

    MBNA Merger Completed

    The MBNA merger expanded the card business to more than 40M active accounts and nearly $140B in managed balances, according to the company's January 2006 release. That size made cards a more important part of consumer banking revenue and risk.

  14. 2008Bank of America

    Countrywide Acquisition Approved

    The Federal Reserve approved Bank of America's acquisition of Countrywide in June 2008. The deal added mortgage scale but later became a costly warning about buying distressed loan portfolios during a housing crisis.

  15. 2008Bank of America

    Merrill Lynch Acquisition Approved

    The Federal Reserve approved the acquisition of Merrill Lynch in November 2008. Although the integration was controversial, Merrill became central to the company's wealth-management and investment-banking fee base.

  16. 2014Bank of America

    Mortgage Settlements With the Justice Department and FHFA

    Bank of America agreed in August 2014 to a $16.65B settlement with the Justice Department over mortgage claims tied to Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, following a March 2014 FHFA agreement with an aggregate payment of about $9.33B.

  17. 2015Honda

    Takahiro Hachigo becomes CEO

    Takahiro Hachigo became CEO of Honda Motor Co. in 2015. Hachigo trimmed excess capacity and refocused Honda on hybrids, motorcycles and its core models, which improved profitability before the EV investment cycle began.

  18. 2018Bank of America

    Erica Launched

    Bank of America launched Erica in 2018 as an AI-enabled virtual assistant inside digital banking. The launch mattered because customer service, insights, and routine account tasks were moving from branches and call centers into mobile channels.

  19. 2021Honda

    Toshihiro Mibe Becomes CEO

    Mibe becomes CEO as Honda increases focus on electrification, software, and new mobility.

  20. 2023Bank of America

    CFPB and OCC Orders on Fees, Rewards and Accounts

    In July 2023 the CFPB ordered Bank of America to pay more than $100M to customers for repeat non-sufficient-funds fees, withheld credit card rewards and unauthorized accounts, plus $90M in CFPB penalties, and the OCC added a $60M penalty.

  21. 2025Bank of America

    $113.1B FY2025 Revenue

    The company reported $113.1B in total revenue net of interest expense and $30.5B in net income for FY2025. The result showed the combined scale of deposits, wealth management, cards, payments, global banking, and markets.

  22. 2025Bank of America

    Co-Presidents Named

    On September 12, 2025 Bank of America named Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare Co-Presidents and gave Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick the added title of executive vice president.

  23. 2026Honda

    FY2026 Loss and EV Reset

    Honda reports ~$146 billion (JPY 21.797 trillion) in sales revenue and a ~$2.84 billion (JPY 423.9 billion) loss attributable to owners after EV write-downs, then posts a record ~$3.56 billion (JPY 530.7 billion) Q1 FY2027 operating profit in August.

Acquisitions

Bank of America

  • Countrywide Financial2008$4B
  • Merrill Lynch2008$50B
  • LaSalle Bank2007$21B
  • MBNA2006$35B
  • FleetBoston Financial2004$47B
  • BankAmerica / NationsBank merger1998$43B
All Bank of America acquisitions

Honda

  • Montesa1986Undisclosed
All Honda acquisitions

Questions about Bank of America vs Honda

Who is the CEO of Bank of America Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?

Bank of America Corporation is led by Brian Moynihan and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is led by Toshihiro Mibe. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.

When was Bank of America Corporation founded vs Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?

Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1904 — 44 years before Honda Motor Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1948. Bank of America Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Honda Motor Co., Ltd..

How many employees does Bank of America Corporation have compared to Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?

Bank of America Corporation employs approximately 213,000 people, while Honda Motor Co., Ltd. employs approximately 195,109. Bank of America Corporation has the larger workforce at 213,000 employees, compared to Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s 195,109. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).

Where are Bank of America Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. headquartered?

Bank of America Corporation is headquartered in United States and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Japan. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.

Who founded Bank of America Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?

Bank of America Corporation was founded by Amadeo Peter Giannini. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. was founded by Soichiro Honda, Takeo Fujisawa.

Which company has a longer operating history — Bank of America Corporation or Honda Motor Co., Ltd.?

Bank of America Corporation has been operating for approximately 122 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has been in operation for around 78 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.

Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Bank of America vs Honda overview

Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.